Summary of the International PBL Project
As part of the Silesian University of Technology – Excellence Initiative programme, the 14th edition of the Project Based Learning (PBL) projects has been successfully completed. During the official evaluation conducted by the Vice-Rector's Committee, the results of the international project entitled "3D and VR Visualization of Natural Disaster Maps, with Particular Focus on Floods and Landslides. Comprehensive Version" were presented.
The project was carried out by students from the Silesian University of Technology and Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). The project team included students from the Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation: Natalia Zaręba and Oliwia Szweda (Surveying and Cartography). Other participants included Piotr Grodzicki (Faculty of Chemistry), Aleksandra Rocznik (Faculty of Biomedical Engineering), and UUM students Mohd Rahimi Abdul Karim, Zairil Anuar Zulmuji, and Putri Safira Bianca Putri, enrolled in the Master of Science in Geoinformatics for Disaster Risk Reduction programme.
The project was supervised by Krzysztof Tomiczek, PhD, Eng., Nur Suhaili Mansor, PhD (Senior Lecturer, Universiti Utara Malaysia), Monika Żogała, PhD, Eng., and Aneta Grodzicka, DSc, Eng., Professor at SUT.
The project represents another successful example of international collaboration with Universiti Utara Malaysia, a university recognized among the world's highly ranked higher education institutions.
The project's objective was to develop a comprehensive methodology for transforming satellite-based flood and landslide hazard maps into interactive 3D models and virtual reality environments. The team employed remote sensing techniques and software tools for spatial data analysis, subsequently integrating the results with digital terrain models. Particular emphasis was placed on maintaining scientific consistency between the analytical and visualization components.
As part of the project, a complete and repeatable workflow was designed and validated, encompassing satellite map analysis, hazard map generation and processing, conversion into 3D models, and final visualization, including the presentation of hazard forecasts. The developed methodology is universal and can be applied across a wide range of research areas. The resulting 3D visualizations provide an accurate representation of spatial analysis results while making them accessible not only to GIS and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) specialists but also to non-specialist audiences.
We congratulate all project participants and academic supervisors on the successful completion of the project and the excellent presentation of its outcomes.
